


Uniform (Klaus and Five's fashion hour)

by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden)



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Good Sibling Klaus Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Ice Cream, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy-centric, Trauma, siblings bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:08:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26093908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Of_Dresden/pseuds/ClaraCivry
Summary: MIddle of the night. Klaus and Five.Klaus asks Five why he only wears that uniform. The answer is... deeper than just "it was there"Because Five has issues, but Klaus also does, so it's easier to share.Five and Klaus being buddies!
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 7
Kudos: 302





	Uniform (Klaus and Five's fashion hour)

It was the middle of the am, full on night outside and Klaus had gone to the kitchen to get himself some coffee, or some cocoa, or get a banana, or something.

His sleep schedule was pretty fucked, and he would often find himself awake at the middle of the night, or awake for more than thirty hours, or asleep in standing as he was looking for something in his pockets. He didn't mind that much. His life had never been known for having a lot of structure, chaos was nothing new.

What was new was having someone in the house that was awake at all hours like him, someone that didn't to be totally there. Luther was a ten pm to 6 am ridiculous sleeper, Diego was barely around and Vanya, when she was at the house was a fairly constant sleeper too, even if she stayed up later.

But Five. Fucking Five.

He was always awake, and sometimes hiding in the darkness, startling the hell out of Klaus as he appeared from behind a door, or sitting on a windowsill in silence. Maybe someone should do something about his lack of sleep. Maybe.

Now he was in the kitchen, apparently lost in a bowl of ice cream. Klaus noted with mild concern the pronounced shadows under his eyes. Someone in the body of boy like him needed more sleep, not less.

"Fiverrrrr! How's my best smallest guy doing?"

Not pissed for once, which was a welcome novelty.

"This tiramisu ice cream thing you brought is downright heavenly, Klaus."

"Vielen dank! I brought it thinking of you, actually, you know, old-timey flavour, touch of coffee, unique flavour with a lot of personality... Figured you'd like it."

Five looked at him, making eye contact for a moment... there was surprise, there was gentleness, there was... there was someone who wasn't used to having anyone ever think about him. Poor sweet Five.

He dropped his gaze almost immediately, uncomfortable with the emotions. Fortunately, Klaus changed the subject.

"Hey man, what's with the outfit? It's like 3 am, why are you still wearing the uniform?"

"Haven't gone to sleep yet."

But that was not an explanation. Why was Five like an anime character, wearing only one outfit as if he didn’t have any more? They had plenty of money, thanks to Reginald’s... whatever it was he did. Klaus got himself another bowl of ice cream, of what Five called "some nonsensical tropical flavour" and sat next to his brother.

"But what's with the outfit in general? There are adults as short as you, I know that, you could get proper clothes if you wanted. I'm sure that Elliott guy would have been glad to have got you something in the sixties. Why hold on to this? Make yourself a target for being called boy, being mocked?"

"It's... convenient. It was already here, and it's my size. Didn't have time, you know, saving the world and such."

"Telling the guy to get you clothes and then changing would take two minutes. No, there's a reason behind this and I want to know."

Five threw him an intense look. A warning. No, you don’t want to know.

"Maybe I don't want to tell you."

"Is it about your barely taped together mental health? Cos you tell you old pal me, I'm not going to cart you off to some therapist, I know that our... unique and peculiar life experiences aren't easy to share."

Five seemed to be considering it, as he looked at the tiramisu in silence. Maybe it would be nice to have someone who didn't just mock the uniform, but understood.

"Come on, buddy. Tell your Klaus everything, you know I don't judge."

Five sighed.

"You're right, Klaus. My mental health... it's not great. Isolation can do terrible things to your head, and after finding the bodies of the only people that I really knew... I... I lost himself. There was only maths, and guilt, and responsibility to save the world, and regret. I was not a person anymore. I was a series of equations, I was some responsibilities, I was a mission. And it was... bad."

The tiramisu ice cream was melting. So was the tropical nonsense. Klaus didn't care.

"I... I had no one, and I had nothing. I was no one there, in the middle of a wasteland I somehow felt I had caused. I had no voice. And the commission... the commission was even worse, Klaus. I followed rules, I obeyed and I did unspeakable things other people ordered me too. I had no will of my own and my mission was getting blurrier and blurrier. I never wanted to kill, I want you to know that, I just... I got good at it. And I had... presence.

But I lost track of things for a while. My sense of self was shattered, and I wanted it back. I wanted to be a person. A person that was not some crazy survivor or a mindless assassin. I wanted to be Five again. I wanted to remember what I had wanted to be. The mission. Saving the umbrella academy, saving the world, seeing you guys again. Breaking free of all the bullshit in my head, the never ending math and the search for mistakes, the regret, the deaths, the...

It was convenient, at first, the uniform. It was in the closet and it fit, and we really didn't have the time. But also... The uniform reminds me of who I am, who I'm fighting for. I... I jumped nearly sixty years into the future when I first got to you, that messes with your head. And my last days with the commission... My head was already in a fairly bad state, the- the guilt and the responsibility, the handler's... voice all over me...

If I was to save the world from a programmed certain doom, I had to keep all the ghosts and monsters in my head at bay. The uniform reminds me of who we all are. Of how much... how much I lived with you guys, of the bond we have, of the fact that at some point I had somewhere where I felt I belonged, had a place. Of... you know, how much I don't want you dead.

And now that I don't have to fight for my or your lives... All those ghosts want out. The flashbacks, the nightmares, all of that... They are cracks. I'm trying not to break completely, tape myself together, like you say. The uniform helps."

Klaus' ice cream was practically all melted by now, but he didn't even care. He’d known, he really had, that Five was messed up as bad as he himself was, or maybe even worse, but everyone was too busy with their lives to try and go beyond his defences, try to get to him. He smiled.

"As far as coping mechanisms go, that doesn't seem too bad. Your liver is probably grateful."

Five scoffed. Klaus... Klaus really didn't judge. Didn't even look at him with puppy eyes, or mention how sorry he felt for him. In that middle of the night, Five was feeling very happy to have a brother as dysfunctional as Klaus.

"Still, if I ever wanted to change... As excessively colourful as it might be, you are clearly the Hargreeves with the best fashion sense, so I might need your advice."

"Oh my god, Five, I am so impossibly flattered! Screw Ben, you are my new favourite."

Five smiled, but... It wasn't easy, baring himself like that. He wanted to be whole. He couldn't be weak around his dad, or on a death-filled apocalypse, or around the Handler. Not being weak had been always paramount so admitting that he wasn't all there... It was frightening. But Klaus understood.

"And hey, I get it. Having ghosts in your head is something I've specialized in. But hopefully you can learn to manage, move past the horrors make new memories, and be able to drown their voices. And if in the mean time looking like this helps... Then that's the best outfit in the world. "

Five breathed. Yes, he may be fucked up, but maybe he wasn't fucked up beyond repair. If he had other people barely taped together like him... Then maybe he could move forward, give himself another chance. Try and start to fix himself.

"... you wanna sleep?" Klaus asked, after a bit of companionable silence.

"I do not." 

"You want to watch project runway and make fun of all the clothes? I won't tell anyone."

A genuine smile.

"I would love that, Klaus."

Klaus smiled back. Having Five back was... it was really good. He had missed him. He made a mental note to remind the not-so-kid of how glad he had to have him back, but not tonight. There had been enough feelings for the night.

"...and, Klaus?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for asking."

_Thanks for listening._

_Thanks for being there._

_Thanks for caring._

"Any time, Five. Any time."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Five loves tiramisu and you know it.
> 
> You know you want to comment!


End file.
